![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9b1f9f29-f2c3-406a-af47-ae36b4d99e51.png\")
One official of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak), who has worked at the agency for five years, acknowledged that AK distances itself from sanctioned athletes and admitted the absence of psychological support.When
\na Kenyan athlete receives the phone call confirming a positive drug test, it
\ncannot only shatter a career but also a life. For one athlete, that dreaded
\nphone call came early in the morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started shaking.
\n\u2018Like how?\u2019 I was confused\u2026The only thing I remember is going inside the house,
\ncoming outside the house, and then my wife asked, \u2018What\u2019s wrong?\u2019 I was
\nshaking. It [had] a huge impact,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n
Confusion and fear
\nfollowed: he did not know whom to trust or what to believe. In the lonely days
\nthat followed, dark thoughts crept in, and late one night, he questioned why he
\nshould go on.<\/p>\n
Extensive interviews
\nwith Kenyan track and field athletes who faced doping bans confirm that this
\ndespair is common. Seven out of 10 athletes interviewed reported having
\nsuicidal thoughts during their ban.<\/p>\n
One said, \u201cI remember
\nthinking, \u2018Why don\u2019t I just die?\u2019 I even contemplated throwing myself from the
\ntop of the building and letting everything come to an end\u201d. <\/p>\n
Another athlete
\nsaid bluntly, \u201cIn the third month, I felt like things were at a climax, so I
\ntried taking my own life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The interviews form
The study uncovers
Most athletes described
The authors warn that
\u00a0\u201cWhen you are
Two others received no response when they sought help.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Anti-doping
ADAK is the national
It collaborates with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the
The official\u2019s
\u00a0\u201cAK\u2019s limited
“Without
Dr Juma, the lead
The athletes said that once the ban is announced, public vilification is relentless.<\/p>\n Some athletes were
\u201cThese nicknames,
“Over
The punishment spreads
Athletes who once supported whole
\u201cWhile no definitive
Their paper is titled, ‘The hidden cost of doping sanctions: examining the experiences of Kenyan
Many athletes said
Under WADA\u2019s strict
The rule states that
Dr Damaris Ogama, a
\u201cContamination of
About 257 Kenyan
Despite the despair,
Some used the ban
Dr Juma and Woolf
They said the wider
They argue that doping
\npart of a new study by Kenyan researcher\u00a0Dr Byron Juma\u00a0<\/a>and US-based\u00a0Jules Woolf<\/a>, published
\nlast week in the\u00a0Performance Enhancement<\/a>\u00a0& Health<\/a>\u00a0journal.<\/p>\n
\nwhat happens to Kenyan athletes after a doping ban. The authors write that
\n\u201cmany reported psychological struggles, including suicidal thoughts, with one
\nrequiring psychological intervention after a suicide attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\npersistent anxiety about their future and ability to support themselves
\nand their families.<\/p>\n
\nmental ill-health\u00a0is worsened by abandonment by\u00a0Athletics Kenya (AK)<\/a>, the
\nfederation overseeing track and field events, which immediately cuts ties, citing a
\npolicy of non-engagement with sanctioned athletes.<\/p>\n
\nsanctioned, you are alone. I don\u2019t think AK will listen to you,\u201d said one
\nathlete, who claimed AK stopped answering his calls.<\/p>\n
\nofficials echoed athletes\u2019 concerns. One official of the Anti-Doping Agency of
\nKenya (Adak), who has worked at the agency for five years, acknowledged that AK
\ndistances itself from sanctioned athletes and admitted the absence of
\npsychological support.<\/p>\n
\nagency responsible for catching and prosecuting individuals involved in doping in
\nKenyan sports. <\/p>\n
\nAthletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to test athletes, investigate violations and
\nissue sanctions.<\/p>\n
\nobservations reflected the anti-doping community\u2019s awareness of the mental and
\nemotional strain sanctions cause, yet do little or nothing about it.<\/p>\n
\nsupport may reflect Kenya\u2019s deep talent pool, which stretches resources,
\nforcing AK to prioritise eligible competitors over sanctioned ones,”\u00a0the authors said.<\/p>\n
\ninstitutional support, sanctioned athletes faced not only emotional isolation
\nbut also the abrupt collapse of their professional livelihoods.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nauthor, is an assistant professor and programme coordinator in sport leadership
\nand recreation at the US’s\u00a0Emporia State University<\/a>.
\nDr Woolf is a researcher on the management of drugs, sport and health at the
\nUniversity of\u00a0Illinois at Urbana-Champaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nmocked with nicknames tied to the substances in their cases.<\/p>\n
\noften used by peers or community members, served as a constant reminder of
\ntheir violation.\u00a0For instance, WanjalaM [name changed] was greeted by the name
\nof the supplement linked to his sanction, while MusyokaM [name changed] was
\ndubbed \u2018Mr [substance]\u2019 after testing positive for a Beta-2 Agonist,”\u00a0the authors said.<\/p>\n
\ntime, such labels affected their identities, with MusyokaM noting how he was
\nrepeatedly referred to as \u2018the [type of] person who uses drugs’.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nfar beyond the athlete. \u201cWhen you sanction them, it is not only the athlete who
\nsuffers, but also the immediate family, the extended family, and the
\ncommunity,\u201d an anti-doping official observed.<\/p>\n
\nhouseholds suddenly face shame and financial ruin. Children watch their parents
\ncrumble.<\/p>\n
\nconclusions can be drawn, Kenyan athletes\u2019 concerns for their children
\nunderscore the urgent need to examine and mitigate any potential impacts of
\nsanctions on these \u2018unseen victims\u2019. This represents a novel direction for
\nfuture research, offering a family systems perspective on the consequences of
\nanti-doping enforcement,\u201d Dr Juma and his colleague said.<\/p>\n
\nathletes sanctioned for violating anti-doping rules’.<\/p>\n
\nthey turned to alcohol. \u201cMusyokaM (a former long-distance runner) shared that he
\nwould hire a motorbike rider to deliver alcohol and drink with him, saying they
\nwould \u2018just laugh about nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\nliability rule, athletes are responsible for any banned substance found in
\ntheir bodies, even without intent. The study notes that this principle \u201cmakes
\nsuccessful appeals seem futile, leaving athletes feeling powerless.\u201d The
\nresult, researchers say, is deep hopelessness and mistrust.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cit is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the
\nathlete\u2019s part be demonstrated to establish an anti-doping rule violation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nKenyan lawyer and researcher on doping interventions,\u00a0said this rule<\/a>\u00a0potentially
\nleads to unjust punishments for innocent athletes who ingest prohibited
\nsubstances inadvertently.<\/p>\n
\nsupplements is becoming an acute problem. Research has found that certain
\nvitamins and protein powders contain additives that are not declared because of
\npoor manufacturing standards. An athlete who consumes such a product in good
\nfaith may end up testing positive and suffer career-threatening ramifications,\u201d
\nshe\u00a0wrote\u00a0<\/a>recently.<\/p>\n
\nathletes have been sanctioned for doping since 2017, according to the\u00a0Athletics Integrity Unit,<\/a>\u00a0which
\nenforces rules in track and field games. Nineteen Kenyans have been\u00a0banned\u00a0<\/a>in 2025
\nalone.<\/p>\n
\nmany Kenyan athletes have refused to give up the sport that defined them.
\n\u201cKenyan athletes expressed a strong desire to return to competitive sport, with
\nsome successfully re-entering competition and others transitioning to ASP (Athlete
\nSupport Personnel, such as coaching) roles, reflecting a continued sport
\ncommitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nperiod to pursue education or farming, others to coach younger runners. One
\nathlete said the experience had \u201copened your mind and made you think outside
\nthe box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ncalled for authorities to provide mental-health services and coping skills to
\nhelp athletes manage their post-sanction identity disruption and stigma and
\npotential return to sport.<\/p>\n
\nconsequences of sanctions on athletes\u2019 families should prompt sports
\norganisations to also focus on the needs of athletes\u2019 families and offer
\ntargeted interventions to aid reintegration or separation from sport.<\/p>\n
\nbans should protect sport\u2019s integrity without destroying human lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One official of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak), who has worked at the agency for five years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[2665,14930,1301,27858,105,36959,51706,218,5519,5520,5518,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-563271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-anxiety","9":"tag-athletes","10":"tag-depression","11":"tag-experts","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-help","14":"tag-income","15":"tag-mental-health","16":"tag-star-news-kenya","17":"tag-the-star","18":"tag-the-star-newspaper","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115530338485013977","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}